Presentations

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) is a best practice for working with people in all facets of our communities, given the high prevalence of trauma throughout our systems. Teachers, administrators, doctors, nurses, child care providers, social workers, police officers, support staff, front line workers and volunteers will greatly benefit from the experience of being trained to promote Safety, Choice, Trustworthiness, Collaboration, Empowerment and Resilience within themselves and those they serve; as well as have an understanding of how trauma impacts all systems and relationships. No matter your desi

The setting is Madison County, IL, but it could be anywhere. A new documentary explores just some of the human cost of the current heroin epidemic. We hear from family members, court officials, police officers, behavioral health professionals, and even the coroner's office as we make this journey. A portion of the documentary will be shown, followed by discussion led by two people on the front line of the battle against heroin.

Because the demand for mental health services exceeds the existing resources, law enforcement and courts across the country have had to spend an increasingly large percentage of their time working with people who have complex mental health and/or substance use disorders; a population law enforcement and courts are often ill-equipped to adequately serve. The Community Mental Health Liaison (CMHL) program, a partnership between the Department of Mental Health and the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare, was one component of Governor Nixon’s Strengthening Missouri’s Mental Heal

Ever wonder where that medication goes and what it’s doing after you swallow it? This simplified discussion of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics will give you a basic understanding of psychotropic drug action. There is a focus on the use of pictures in lieu of math!

Despite the risk and effort, several new medications have come to the market recently. Additionally, novel strategies for drug development are bring several interesting compounds into the development pipeline.

What is it that lies within each of us—sometimes very deep within us—that allows us to cope with and ultimately survive traumatic events? What can we as professionals do to first convince someone that inner power is there and then to help our clients make good use of it? Dr. Eger will explore how to use the tools already within the person to bring about changes in response and behavior.

Every person we encounter has a story that is as unique as he or she is. Even the professional brings her or his personal story to the therapeutic environment. While we may not share our personal journeys with the people we serve, our stories make us who we are.
Dr. Eger experienced one of the greatest traumas of the 20th century. Yet, as she stands before us, she is a woman of boundless joy. In her keynote address, she will share with us the journey that brought her to this point, and insights into how she uses that journey with the people she sees professionally. Trauma ma

There are specific challenges implementing deaf culture in a forensic mental health setting. How is deaf culture in conflict with forensics (use of hypotheticals, use of touch, the assessment process lost in translation, deaf competent therapist and psychiatrists, visual language vs. spoken)? This presentation will describe the efforts made to create a forensic mental health program which is sensitive to deaf culture and allows deaf clients to be as successful as their hearing peers.

Modern medicine has made tremendous progress in reducing both the mortality of major illness and the overall quality of life for persons experiencing illnesses, with the exception of illnesses we have tagged as “behavioral.” There are many reasons that explain our lack of progress but too much emphasis is given on treatments and medicines and not enough attention is given to relationships and provider expectations.
Language is the medium of healing relationships. Language is important for all health care providers but plays an even larger role for those of us in working with persons suffering

The more you know about how to look for a job the better you'll be able to help the people you serve. Business indicates there is a skill gap between jobs and candidates. Is this true or are candidates not applying for jobs correctly? Learn the top 10 reasons you didn’t get the job.